Clip Clop Day Nursery

Clip Clop Day Nursery Clifton House, 41 Old Station Road, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 8QE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 6 October 2017 2 May 2017

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The provider has failed to implement all the actions set at the previous inspection.  The manager does not ensure that all staff are effectively deployed, and that children are adequately supervised at all times, to keep them safe. For example, during the inspection, the manager and pre-school staff failed to see that a child had put the cord of a blind around their neck. The inspector had to swiftly bring this to the manager's attention to safeguard this child.  Staff do not complete rigorous risk assessments to identify and minimise potential hazards to children. This compromises children's safety and well-being.  The manager does not ensure that records of children's hours of attendance are accurately maintained to enable staff to know who is present.  Pre-school children are not adequately supported to build positive relationships with their key person in order to help them settle and to feel secure at the nursery.

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This provision is inadequate

 The quality of teaching across the nursery is variable. The staff who work in the pre- school room do not provide sufficiently challenging learning opportunities. The provider does not ensure that staff plan challenging, ongoing learning experiences for every child to enable them all to make good progress.  Self-evaluation is not sufficiently robust to help the management team and staff consistently identify areas of weakness and target areas for improvement.

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It has the following strengths

 Babies and toddlers have good relationships with staff who are attentive to their needs. Staff provide a wide range of activities for these children and support their learning, such as by encouraging toddlers to count as they build towers with blocks.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to:

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Due Date

 ensure that children are adequately supervised at all times and staff are deployed to meet children's needs and keep them safe 27/10/2017

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Due Date

 take all reasonable steps to ensure that children are not exposed to risks, undertaking thorough assessments to identify, remove or minimise hazards 27/10/2017

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Due Date

 ensure that records of each child's hours of attendance are accurately maintained. 27/10/2017

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Due Date

 improve the key-person system to ensure that staff know who their key children are and support them to settle in the nursery 27/10/2017

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Due Date

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage the provider must:

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Due Date

 improve the quality of teaching in the pre-school room and ensure children are provided with purposeful play and challenging learning opportunities, to encourage their good progress. 27/10/2017

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities and spoke to staff and children at appropriate times.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the provider.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documents and a range of other documents, including the safeguarding policies and procedures.  The inspector checked the evidence of the suitability and qualifications of the staff working with the children.  The inspector spoke to a number of parents and took account of their views and of the provider's ongoing action plans.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

The provider has failed to adequately address all the actions raised at the last inspection and there are significant breaches of welfare requirements. Management demonstrate a poor capacity to continually improve and this compromises children's health, welfare and safety. The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. Risk assessments do not adequately keep all children safe. On the day of inspection, staff in the pre-school room failed to complete their daily safety checks. In addition, risk assessments do not identify all significant hazards to children, such as dangling blind cords. At inspection, a child managed to put this round his neck unnoticed by staff and the inspector had to step in to safeguard this child. Furthermore, staff do not give children clear guidelines on how to play with the resources appropriately or to tidy them away. This results in the pre-school room quickly becoming a chaotic environment with toys strewn all over the floor, causing

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

many trip hazards. Staff do not record children's hours of attendance accurately. For example, when children leave the setting this is not consistently recorded and staff do not make the manager aware of which children they are taking off the premises for a walk. Staff understand how to recognise signs and symptoms of abuse and their responsibility to refer any child protection concerns to the relevant agencies. Recruitment procedures are implemented correctly and all required suitability checks are now carried out. Management use supervision and appraisals of staff's practice to help identify some suitable areas for improvement and training opportunities. However, the provider is not effective in ensuring that all staff have effective teaching skills and carry out their duties adequately.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

At the last inspection, the provider was asked to ensure that staff plan challenging, ongoing learning experiences for every child that match their needs and enable them to make good progress. However, teaching across the nursery is variable. Staff in the pre- school room do not plan challenging experiences that interest and engage children in learning. These children quickly lose interest in the activities available as they are not developmentally appropriate or exciting. For example, staff provide an activity for children to match three different coloured counters onto pictures. This does not inspire or challenge their learning and children gain more enjoyment from dropping the pieces onto the floor. When children choose to play imaginatively, such as settling their dolls into buggies, they are unable to push these around as the floor is littered with toys and so have to carry them instead. Staff now carry out more precise observations of children's

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

development and have a better understanding of each child's skills and abilities. These are regularly shared with parents to promote some continuity in children's development. Staff in the toddler room engage children well in play and learning. They share books together and children enjoy pointing out parts of their body, such as ears and mouth. Babies enjoy exploring oats and staff encourage them to fill and empty containers. Staff use mathematical language to describe babies' actions, such as full and empty.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

The key-person system in the pre-school room is poor. Staff do not routinely know who their key children are and children are not allocated a key person early enough in the settling-in procedure. On the day of inspection children new to the nursery were observed to be very distressed. They were not comforted by their key person or encouraged to join in with activities. Despite children's persistent crying, staff continually tell them that they are 'alright' and that their parents are returning soon. This does not comfort children or help them to understand their feelings to enable them to feel safe and secure at the nursery. The manager and staff working in the pre-school room do not provide a safe environment for children to play within. For example, staff do not encourage or explain to children the importance of routinely tidying up or putting toys away after use, which means the play environment is chaotic. When staff are preparing children to go outside

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

they take large numbers of children into the confined corridor which is used as the cloakroom area. Staff are not vigilant in ensuring this area is safe for children as it is not included in their daily checks of the environment. Staff do not adequately supervise children during these times to ensure they are kept safe. Babies and toddlers benefit from secure routines, such as sleeping when they need to. All children benefit from daily outdoor experiences, for instance they enjoy chasing bubbles in the garden area or going for walks in the local community.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Overall, children's progress from their initial starting points is not good enough. The poor quality of teaching, and the range of safety concerns in the pre-school room hinders children's overall learning experiences. Pre-school children do not adequately engage in learning to help them develop their curiosity and thinking skills. However, younger children engage well, for example, they are learning how to use simple technology as they press buttons and watch what happens. Overall, children are gaining some of the basic skills in readiness for school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY410405 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 1099453 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 0 - 7 Total number of places 41 Number of children on roll 68 Name of registered person Clip Clop Day Nursery Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 2 May 2017 Telephone number 01638 664405

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reference number

Clip Clop Day Nursery registered in 2011. It is located in Newmarket, Suffolk. The nursery employs 19 members of childcare staff. Of these, 16 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or above, and the provider is qualified at degree level. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm, all year around. They also provide breakfast and after-school care for children up to the age of seven years. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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reference number

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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reference number

procedures set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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reference number

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reference number

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reference number

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